Our last stop before heading back to Amsterdam took us to the east of Holland. A little town called Aalten, situated between farmlands and scattered with some more small towns and villages, 5km from the German border, and also where my dad was born and spent his childhood. At the station we were picked up by my uncle and his wife, who welcomed us into their home for the following couple of days.

In the time we were there, they went out of their way to let us see the area, and to visit a lot of family. We cycled around Aalten, where we saw the house my dad grew up in, we went for a drive to a viewpoint in Germany overlooking the Rhine, Hoch-Elten. Here we sat down for a coffee and delicious poffertjes, before driving down to take a walk along the river to see the big cargo ships. We also stopped by my cousin's house, where we met her kids.We visited my dad's cousin, who has just moved to an old farmhouse where his daughter stays, which they are busy renovating. A beautiful project.

Neill and I took a cycle to Halle, a town about 15km away, where we visited another aunt of mine. It was when we wanted to start heading home, when the rain started. It didn't stop raining for the rest of our time in Holland.

One of the days, we picked up yet another aunt of mine, and we headed to Den Bosch, where one of my cousins stay. We spent the day there, walking around the city under umbrellas, walking through the beautiful St. Jan cathedral, visiting the Noord Brabants Museum, playing with my cousin's kids and eating scrumptious food and snacks (if you are ever in Den Bosch, try the local treat, a Bossche Bol, death by pastry, so good!) at my cousin's husband's pub Stadsherberg ’t Pumpke. Although the rain thwarted our original plans for Den Bosch, we had a lot of fun with everyone, and enjoyed spending time there.

The next day we already had to leave to go back to Amsterdam, but the time spent in Aalten was good and we loved being able to stay at my uncle and aunt's.

One of the big joys and benefits of visiting Holland for me, is the fact that I have family living all over. What makes it difficult, is that there are more family than we had days. We tried to combine it all.From Ghent, we went to my aunt who lives in The Netherlands on the border of Belgium. In a town called Etten-Leur. With her husband being a photographer as well, it was bound to be a success for Neill too, as it would be his first time meeting the extended family.

We had a great time with them the couple days we were there. A day was spent walking about 13/14 km through the town, and afterwards having a well-deserved beer on the terrace of De Witte Leeuw.

We also took a drive to Domburg in Zeeland, a beautiful coastal town, where we walked along the dunes and the beach, before sitting down for lunch and a beer at a beach café. As we had the most gorgeous weather and such a breath-taking sky, we had a blast as photographers!Evenings were spent with music, talk & drinks. My uncle also took us to see his company's studio, where he shoots products for advertisements. It was good to see a completely different world to our style & type of photography.

My aunt was kind enough to invite two of her sisters over, who lives nearby, so we could meet up with them as well. My cousin also came over with her husband, and I got to meet her sweet little girl too. For this travel blog, I will not be sharing too many photos of the family, but rather only of the places we've seen.It was a great couple of days, and we hope to someday return the favour when they come to visit us in the southern hemisphere!